Publications

In this communication, we develop a facile one-pot green strategy toward CuO–Cu2O–Cu nanorod-decorated reduced graphene oxide (CuNRs–rGO) composites by hydrothermal heating of the mixed solution of GO and Cu(OAc)2 under basic conditions without the use of extra reducing agents. As-synthesized composites have been successfully applied in photocurrent generation in the visible spectral region.

The emerging inorganic CsPbI₃ perovskites are promising wide-bandgap materials for application in tandem solar cells, but they tend to transit from a black α phase to a yellow δ phase in ambient conditions. Herein, a gradient grain-sized (GGS) CsPbI₃ bilayer is developed to stabilize the α phase via a single-step film deposition process. The spontaneously upward migration of (adamantan-1-yl)methanammonium (ADMA) based on the hot-casting technique causes self-assembly of the hierarchical morphology for the perovskite layers. Due to the strong steric effect of the surficial ADMA cation, a self-assembly tiny grain-sized CsPbI₃ layer is in situ formed at the surface site, which exhibits notably enhanced phase stability by its high surface energy. Meanwhile, a large grain-sized CsPbI₃ layer is obtained at the bottom site with high charge mobility and low trap density of states, which benefits from the regulated growth rates by the interaction between ADMA and perovskites. The perovskite solar cell (PSC) based on the GGS CsPbI₃ bilayer shows an efficiency of 15.5% and operates stably for 1000 h under ambient conditions. This work confirms that redistributing the surface energy of perovskite films is a facile strategy to stabilize metastable PSCs without the cost of efficiency loss.

The porous Ni₃N NA/CC acts as a high-performance and durable electrocatalyst for urea oxidation needing a potential of 1.35 V to drive 10 mA cm⁻² water-splitting current in 1.0 M KOH with 0.33 M urea.

Abstract It is highly attractive, but still remains a huge challenge, to develop efficient non‐noble‐metal electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under neutral and alkaline conditions. In this paper, we report that CoP nanosheet arrays on carbon cloth (CoP NA/CC), derived from α‐Co(OH) 2 NA/CC, behaves as a three‐dimensional bifunctional water‐splitting catalyst electrode with high activity and durability in neutral and alkaline media. Such CoP NA/CC demands overpotentials of 145 and 52 mV to afford 10 mA cm −2 for the HER in 1.0 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and 1.0 M KOH, respectively, with much superior activity to α‐Co(OH) 2 NA/CC. It can be attributed to the more thermo‐neutral hydrogen adsorption free energy for CoP than α‐Co(OH) 2 , according to density functional theory calculations. This electrode also demonstrates superior OER activity over α‐Co(OH) 2 NA/CC and needs overpotentials of only 536 and 300 mV to drive 10 mA cm −2 at neutral and alkaline pH, respectively. The two‐electrode water electrolyzer using CoP NA/CC as both the cathode and anode shows a 2 mA cm −2 water‐splitting current at a cell voltage of 1.60 V in 1.0 M PBS and needs 1.65 V for 10 mA cm −2 under alkaline condition with excellent stability.

Electrocatalytic two-electron oxygen reduction has emerged as a promising alternative to the energy- and waste-intensive anthraquinone process for distributed H₂ O₂ production. This process, however, suffers from strong competition from the four-electron pathway leading to low H₂ O₂ selectivity. Herein, we report using a superhydrophilic O₂ -entrapping electrocatalyst to enable superb two-electron oxygen reduction electrocatalysis. The honeycomb carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) are robust and capable of achieving a high H₂ O₂ selectivity of 97.3 %, much higher than that of its solid carbon nanofiber counterpart. Impressively, this catalyst achieves an ultrahigh mass activity of up to 220 A g^-1 , surpassing all other catalysts for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. The superhydrophilic porous carbon skeleton with rich oxygenated functional groups facilitates efficient electron transfer and better wetting of the catalyst by the electrolyte, and the interconnected cavities allow for more effective entrapping of the gas bubbles. The catalytic mechanism is further revealed by in situ Raman analysis and density functional theory calculations.

The interaction between novel gemini surfactant (alkane-α, ω-bis(dimethyl hexadecyl ammonium bromide) (G6)) and two different non-ionic surfactants (Triton X-114 (TX-114), Tween 20 (T-20)) has been investigated in the current study at temperature 298.15 K. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) values of mixed systems were computed by the conductometric titration in the aqueous medium. The results have been examined by utilizing numerous theoretical models (Clint, Rubingh, Motomura, Maeda, and Lange models). The experimentally determined cmc were lower than corresponding ideal values (cmc*) and decreased with the mixtures' stoichiometric mole fraction (α1) of G6. This shows non-ideal behavior between two employed components. The interaction parameter at mixed micelle (β) has been analyzed by using regular solution approximation. The attractive interaction or synergistic behavior in both mixed systems is confirmed by the negative values of β. The various energetics parameters were also evaluated and discussed.

Monodispersed mesoporous phenolic polymer nanospheres with uniform diameters were prepared and used as the core for the further growth of core-shell mesoporous nanorattles. The hierarchical mesoporous nanospheres have a uniform diameter of 200 nm and dual-ordered mesopores of 3.1 and 5.8 nm. The hierarchical mesostructure and amphiphilicity of the hydrophobic carbon cores and hydrophilic silica shells lead to distinct benefits in multidrug combination therapy with cisplatin and paclitaxel for the treatment of human ovarian cancer, even drug-resistant strains.